Face-to-Face, from the National Portrait Gallery

Portraits of astronauts John Glenn, Bob Crippin and John Young, by Henry Casselli -- the artist discusses his work. Image: John Glenn / Henry C. Casselli, Jr. / Graphite and watercolor on paper, 1998 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Gift of Taylor Energy Company LLC

Portrait of Ronald Reagan by Henry Casselli -- the artist discusses his work. Recorded at NPG, September 24, 2010. Image: Ronald Wilson Reagan / Henry C. Casselli, Jr. / Oil on canvas, 1989 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Herman Chanen, Tom Chauncey and other Friends, Copyright Henry C. Casselli, Jr.

Portrait of Muhammad Ali by Henry Casseli -- the artist discusses his work. Recorded at NPG, September 24, 2010. Image: Muhammad Ali / Henry C. Casselli, Jr. / Oil on canvas, 1981 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Sig Rogich Family Trust

The NPG's Cara Fama discusses a portrait of American artist Mary Cassatt by Edgar Degas. Recorded at NPG, March 31, 2011. Image: Mary Stevenson Cassatt / Edgar Degas / Oil on canvas, 1880-1884 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the Regents' Major Acquisitions Fund, Smithsonian

"Troubling American Women: Narratives of Gender and Nation in Hong Kong" -- author Stacilee Ford discusses her book. American women have lived in Hong Kong and neighboring Macao for nearly two centuries. Many were changed by their encounter with Chinese life and British colonialism. Their openness to new experiences set them apart, while their "pedagogical impulse" gave them a reputation for outspokenness that troubled others. Drawing on memoirs, diaries, newspapers, films, and other texts, Stacilee Ford tells the stories of several American women and explores how, through dramatically changing times, they communicated their notions of national identity and gender. "Troubling American Women: Narratives of Gender and Nation in Hong Kong" is a lively and provocative study of cross-cultural encounters between Hong Kong and the U.S. and of stereotypes of American womanhood in Hong Kong popular culture. Recorded at NPG, October 19, 2011.

Anjuli Singh of the American Film Institute talks about former president Ronald Reagan as an actor, and a 1942 lobby card for the film "Kings Row."Recorded at NPG, September 29, 2011. Image: Ronald Wilson Reagan / "Kings Row" lobby card / Warner Brothers Archive, 1942 / Courtesy University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts, Warner Bros. Archives

"Fighting Their Own Battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Texas" -- author Brian Behnken discusses his book. By comparing the histories of these movements in one of the few states in the nation to witness two civil rights movements, Behnken bridges the fields of Mexican American and African American history, revealing the myriad causes that ultimately led these groups to "fight their own battles. Recorded at NPG, September 7, 2011.

"Woody Guthrie, American Radical (Music in American Life)" -- author Will Kaufman discusses his book and plays songs by woody Guthrie. Kaufman's book reclaims the politically radical profile of America's greatest balladeer. Using a wealth of previously unseen archival materials, it introduces a heretofore unknown Guthrie: the canny political strategist, fitful thinker, and cultural front activist practically buried in the general public's romantic celebration of the "Dust Bowl Troubadour." Recorded at NPG, August 17, 2011.

"Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways" -- author Richard Carlin discusses his book and the life of Moses Asch and his and larger-than-life dream -- to document and record all the sounds of his time. From 1940 until his death in 1986, Asch -- with the help of collaborators ranging from the eccentric visionary Harry Smith to academic musicologists -- created more than 2000 albums, a sound-scape of the contemporary world still unequaled in breadth and scope. Recorded at NPG, August 10, 2011.

Susan Eisenhower, descendant of President Dwight Eisenhower, speaks about first lady Mamie Eisenhower and her portrait by Dwight Eisenhower. Recorded at NPG, July 14, 2011. Image: Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower by Dwight David Eisenhower / Oil on artist's board, c. 1952, after 1941 photograph / Private collection

"American to the Backbone: The Life of James Pennington, The Fugitive Slave Who Became One of the First Abolitionists" -- author Christopher Webber discusses his book. Recorded at NPG, July 13, 2011.

Beth Turner, Vice Provost for the Arts at UVA, talks about artist Alexander Calder Recorded at NPG, July 7, 2011. Image: Self-portrait by Alexander Calder / Wire, 1968 / Calder Foundation, New York; Copyright 2010 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Photograph Copyright Calder Foundation, New York / Art Resource, NY

"Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free"-- author John Ferling discusses his book on America's political journey from protest to revolution. Recorded at NPG, July 6, 2011.

Jim Barber, historian at NPG discusses the exhibiton "The Death of Ellsworth"

"Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship That Changed the World" -- author Penny Colman discusses her book. Recorded at NPG, June 15, 2011.